At the Rev. John Rankin house in Ripley, Ohio, the Ohio Historical Society spent a year undertaking above ground testing and has just completed field work to investigate anomalies. A full analysis has not been completed, but what is evident, and we understood this prior to the project, is that the depositional history at the site is similar to a small domestic farm site, which is exactly what it was. We have been looking for a barn cellar that has been reported to be, from fairly good evidence, where the family kept runaways (one source mentions 12 at a time). We had fourteen anomalies as possibilities, but all turned out to be other disturbances. Archaeology at these sites is just as illusive as you would think it would be. You can spend lots of time (time equals money) and not have anything but regular old archaeological artifacts to show for it (though for our purposes this has turned out to be fantastic because we uncovered the summer kitchen and a cistern also mentioned in texts).
Neal Hitch
Ohio Historical Society
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [SMTP:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Al Tonetti
Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 7:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Under Ground Rail Road work
Beth,
See
http://www.ohioarchaeology.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view
&id=26&Itemid=32. The author can be contacted at
[log in to unmask] Also see the National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center http://www.freedomcenter.org, the Friends of Freedom
Society/Ohio Underground Railraoad Association
http://www.ohioundergroundrailroad.org/, the Wayne National Forest
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/wayne/projects/ur_project/ur_home.html, the National
Park Service http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/thhome.htm, the
African American archaeology newsletter
http://www.newsouthassoc.com/African%20American%20Archaeology%20Newsletters/
AfAmNewsletter.html, and the African Diaspora Archaeology Network
http://www.anthro.uiuc.edu/faculty/cfennell/bookmark3.html.
Al Tonetti
ASC Group, Inc.
4620 Indianola Avenue
Columbus, OH 43214-1861
(614) 268-2514 x18
(614) 268-7881 fax
[log in to unmask]
www.ascgroup.net
Trustee, Ohio Archaeological Council
Chair, Government Affairs Committee
-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Elizabeth Hoag
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 8:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Under Ground Rail Road work
Dear All,
I was looking through the Histarch archives today, for references to
archaeological work done at houses that were part of the UGRR. There
were a few posts from nearly 9 years ago asking about this, so I
thought I would re-kindle the question (without necessarily re-kindling
the debate about the validity of this kind of research).
I am working with a group that is investigating a ca 1850 hose in Ohio
that has ties to the UGRR. I hopefully will be conducting some excavations
there next year. I would like to see of anyone has ever worked at such a
house, or has any references to archaeological work carried out at houses
with the UGRR connection. I realize that finding evidence of freedom
seekers is challenging, given the ephemeral nature of their occupation at
any one place. But there is still much we can learn about the people who
built and lived in the house, help piece together the lives of those who
helped with the UGRR, and possibly find evidence of the fugitives who
stayed there on their way North.
Thanks in advance for your help with this, feel free to reply on- or
off-list.
Beth Hoag, RPA
Cuyahoga Community College
Cleveland OH
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